James Gunn talks casting for Guardians of the Galaxy. Guillermo del Toro offers updates on Frankenstein and The Hulk TV show. Will a Doctor Who companion appear in Star Trek Into Darkness after all? Falling Skies elects its president, and he's a former Star Trek officer. And Arrow reveals its first look at the DC Comics villain Deadshot!

Spoilers from here on out!

Top image from Star Trek Into Darkness.

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Iron Man 3

In what is apparently being considered the official start of Marvel's Phase Two, the first teaser trailer for Iron Man 3 is slated to premiere October 23. [E! News]

Guardians of the Galaxy

Writer-director James Gunn, who previously made Super and Slither, offered this response when asked about casting for Rocket Raccoon:

"There's such a long, long list for all our casting choices, we've barely begun...It's not cast-dependent. We could make the movie with unknowns if we wanted to. I can't talk too much about this, because Marvel will kill me!"

Star Trek Into Darkness

Noel Clarke, best known for playing Mickey Smith on Doctor Who, says he might end up being cut out of the Star Trek sequel, in which he has an unnamed role as a concerned father:

"As far as I'm aware I'm still in the movie.' You go out there and do a big film, you don't know what they're gonna cut.''

Clarke was previously cut out of Ghost Rider 2, though he says he probably ended up on the right side of that one. [Contact Music]

Frankenstein

Hellboy and Pacific Rim director Guillermo del Toro gives this update on the state of his Frankenstein adaptation, which is set to star Harry Potter's Emma Watson:

Yeah, actually [Universal Pictures Co-Chairman] Donna Langley just put us on track to write the screenplay. So, we're going to start writing the script. It's a very long endeavor for me; it's going to require a couple of years just to write it. But it's been put back on track by Donna.

He also discusses how faithful his adaptation will be to Mary Shelley's book:

I think the moment that the only quality you can claim is faithfulness… It's a very difficult, tricky slope. Because then anytime that you deviate from that, you're betraying the very goal you submitted. I'm being very faithful to trying to encompass the whole narrative of the novel. I'm being very faithful in that I'm trying to capture the spirit of the novel, when I read it as a kid, and how it impacted me. I recognize that it's both biography and prophecy about my life. It's a very personal film. In many ways it's the most personal film I'll ever make, because my connection with the creature is very profound and deep and I don't think there's any other monster that has affected me as much.

So, you want to take as much time as required to get it exactly right?
Yeah, that also means that I've been avoiding it in a cowardly way for many years. [Laughs.] It's something that I've been… not quite so much reticent about as I've been mindful and cautious. But borderline avoiding. Because I really think it's going to be the one movie that I feel is gonna signify [me] more than any other in my life.

Frankenweenie

Rise of the Guardians

Here's an international poster for the upcoming Dreamworks movie about the various folkloric characters from childhood teaming up to defeat the malevolent Pitch. [First Showing]

Giants

British short filmmakers Tom Jenkins and Simon Sharp have reportedly been hired by Sony to rewrite and direct what sounds like a goofy comedy. Here's the description:

In Giants, an alien race known as Giants on planet Gigantus are attacked by a foreign spacecraft, which prompts a team of soldiers to embark on a mission to Earth in order to wage war. The aggressors are taken aback when they realize they were giants on their home planet, they are 1/4 inch tall compared to earthlings, and the foreign spacecraft that attacked them was actually a loose screw from the Hubble telescope. The giants land in a nerdy kid's yard, and through a series of events bond to save the world.

Twilight: Breaking Dawn

Here are some promo photos for what we can only hope is the final Twilight movie. [SpoilerTV]

Doctor Who

We can probably file this under things that are awesome but will never ever happen because real life just isn't awesome enough, but comics legend Grant Morrison says he would "really love to write Doctor Who", and he has even had mutual friends reach out to Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss. It sounds unlikely this will ever get beyond the idle chatter stages, but I'm going to live in hope, if only because Grant Morrison writing for Matt Smith's Doctor might just break the universe. [Comic Book Resources]

The Hulk

Guillermo del Toro offers this update on his long-simmering TV adaptation of the Hulk story:

Right now all I know is the official word I was given is that there's a writer they want. They are very interested in me meeting with him. He's very, very busy. The official word is we are holding, but I don't know… After Avengers having the success it had, perhaps the fate of the project may change. Right now officially what I know – and I'm not hiding anything off the record or anything – is that we were told we were waiting for this writer, and we were going to do it with him.

Once Upon a Time

The Rite star Colin O'Donoghue, who was cast as Captain Hook in the show's second season, has reportedly been promoted to a series regular. [TV Guide]

Falling Skies

Stephen Collins, whose claims to fame are Star Trek: The Motion Picture, It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, No Ordinary Family, and nothing else as far as I'm concerned, will reportedly play President Benjamin Hathaway in the fourth episode of season three. Here's the character description, according to TV Guide:

The character is described as a confident man exuding charisma who has been forced into combat against the aliens. Stationed in Colorado, he has been sending out sniper teams all over the nation to locate survivors. He wants to meet Tom (Noah Wyle) to see how he and the 2nd Mass have been winning the war against the outer space creatures.

Supernatural

Here's the description for the fourth episode of season eight, "Bitten":

A UNIQUE EPISODE OF SUPERNATURAL - Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles) investigate a bizarre murder in a college town. Close on the tail of their suspect, they bust into an apartment to find two dead bodies and a laptop cued up to some disturbing video footage. The footage begins with Brian (guest star Leigh Parker), Mike (guest star Brandon W. Jones) and Kate (guest star Britni Sheridan) hearing about an unusual animal attack in their town and the rest of the story is revealed through their eyes. Sam and Dean become unknowing participants in a unique student film.

Haven

[gallery 5948805] Here are some promo photos for episode three, "The Farmer." [BuddyTV]

Arrow

Here are the first photos of Michael Rowe as DC Comics assassin Deadshot, who is slated to appear in "Lone Gunman", the third episode of The CW's Green Arrow show. [Huffington Post]

And here's the official description for "The Lone Gunman":

DC COMICS' VILLIAN DEADSHOT SETS HIS SIGHTS ON ARROW - Oliver (Stephen Amell) is surprised when someone shoots and kills one of his targets. As his plan is to bring people to justice vs. outright killing them, Oliver doesn't appreciate the help and searches for the gunman. He soon learns that the man, Deadshot (guest star Michael Rowe), is taking out businessmen who are scheduled to bid at an auction on an energy company and Walter (Colin Salmon) is one of the bidders. Realizing he can't protect his family and stop Deadshot at the same time, Oliver enlists Detective Lance's (Paul Blackthorne) help, but his plan has dire consequences. Meanwhile, Laurel (Katie Cassidy) and Tommy (Colin Donnell) get caught in an awkward situation with Oliver.

The Vampire Diaries

Here's the description for episode three, "The Rager":

BORN TO BE WILD - Connor (guest star Todd Williams) continues his search to uncover the secrets of Mystic Falls and tries to convince Jeremy (Steven R. McQueen) to work with him. With Dr. Fell's (guest star Torrey DeVitto) help, Damon (Ian Somerhalder) and Klaus (Joseph Morgan) question Connor, but the confrontation takes a lethal turn. Trying to keep her new life as normal as possible, Elena (Nina Dobrev) is determined to continue her senior year at Mystic Falls High with support from Matt (Zach Roerig) and Caroline (Candice Accola). Rebekah's (Claire Holt) arrival at school makes it difficult for Elena to control her anger, but she learns that confronting Rebekah can be extremely dangerous. Later, Rebekah realizes how alone she is, and reaches out to April (guest star Grace Phillips). Stefan (Paul Wesley) takes Elena on a thrilling motorcycle ride in an effort to show her that life can still be fun. Tyler (Michael Trevino) gets a surprise visit from Hayley (guest star Phoebe Tonkin, "The Secret Circle"), a werewolf who helped him through the ordeal of breaking his sire-bond to Klaus. Concerned about Elena, as well as his own emotions, Stefan turns to a sympathetic Caroline for advice.

Primeval: New World

We can now officially consider this Canadian remake of the British sci-fi show a North American remake, because Syfy has reportedly picked the show up for US broadcast. Among other things, this means a return to the network for New World star Niall Matter, who previously played Zane on Eureka. There's no word on when exactly the show, which debuts next month in Canda, will start airing in the US, though sometime in 2013 seems like a safe bet. [The Hollywood Reporter]

Beauty and the Beast

Here's the synopsis for episode three, "All In":

CAT AND TESS INVESTIGATE THE VEHICULAR HOMICIDE OF AN IMMIGRATION JUDGE – Iris (Lara Jean Chorostecki), a Bosnian immigrant, is arrested on the suspicion of killing a judge for deporting her brother. Vincent (Jay Ryan) insists that Iris is innocent, so trusting his instincts, Cat (Kristin Kreuk) works behind-the-scenes to uncover the truth. When Cat's actions disrupt the investigation, Joe (Brian White) places her on leave. Nevertheless, she continues on her own to discover that Iris is hiding a family secret, and needs Vincent's help. JT (Austin Basis) is concerned that Vincent risks exposure to Murifield by helping Cat, leading Cat to work out a way to communicate with Vincent without seeking him out.

The seventh episode will reportedly be called "Responsibility." [SpoilerTV]